1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to eye drop dispenser devices which are used in conjunction with eye drop dispensers and are often referred to as cups. More specifically, these devices, in general, are removably attached or permanently attached to containers (dispensers) for application of eye treatments to the human eye. The cup is especially useful in prevention of misdirection of the liquid treatment being dispensed and aids in alignment of the dispenser with the eye to be treated. In the present invention, the device is uniquely invertible and may be screwed onto a dispenser shoulder-down for compactness, and then unscrewed, inverted and screwed back onto the dispenser shoulder-up for use on an eye.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Eye drop dispenser containers have been in use for decades and are basically squeeze containers which store eye treatment materials, such as eye medications, prescription medications, red eye treatments, dry eye treatments and the like. They are typically screwed capped, with shoulders and a tapered tip with a dispensing orifice on the neck. They are uncapped, then held upside down (inverted) and squeezed above an eye to be treated. Problems arise, such as bad aim, spillage, misdosage, and, for women, makeup damage. The present invention is directed to overcoming or reducing all of these problems. Other concepts have been developed to address some of these difficulties, but not to the extent or success of the present invention. The following patents are representative of the state of the art:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,728 describes a selectively securable eye drop dispenser apparatus as set forth wherein a replacement cap for use of the conventional eye drop dispensers has formed a threaded cylindrical portion for securement to the aforenoted conventional eye drop bottle including an orifice portion directed to an eye cup portion for operative associated with a human eye. The eye cup portion is formed of a flexible plastic-like material for enabling conformity to an associated human eye wherein the cylindrical threaded portion is formed of relatively stiff plastic-like material for maintaining desired registry and orientation of the associated orifice portion with the eye drop bottle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,381 describes an eye drop dispenser consisting of a flexible container having an open neck defining an eye drop cup removably secured to the neck of the dispenser and having a free edge for engaging the eyelids of a person using the dispenser, in order to hold the eyelids against movement during application of eye drops to the eye. The cup is secured to the neck of the dispenser through an opening formed in one end thereof, which opening and engages the neck of the container with a portion of the neck extending through the opening and into the cup. A cover is provided for the cup and container, which cover has a top portion stem. The top portion of the cover overlies the free edge of the cup to close the open end of the cup and the elongated stem portion of the cover extends into the cup and includes means for operatively engaging and closing the neck or nozzle of the container so that the cover will simultaneously close both the dispenser nozzle and the opened end of the cup.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.
The present invention is directed to an invertible eye drop dispenser device, alone, and in conjunction with an eye drop dispenser container having a threaded neck. The device includes a hollow, circular base portion having a bottom end and a top end. The bottom end has a first set of internal threads and the top end has a second set of internal threads, the first set of internal threads and the second set of internal threads having the same thread gauge and both being adapted to thread onto threads of a neck of an eye drop dispenser container. The first set of internal threads and the second set of internal threads are inverted relative to one another, so that the device may be threaded with the bottom end threaded to a container or, so that, upon inversion, the device may be threaded with the top end threaded to a container.
There is also an eye cup portion attached to the bottom end of the base portion. The eye drop cup portion has a narrower cross section toward the base portion and flares out to a wider cross section away from the base portion. The eye cup portion may be curvilinear in shape and, in one preferred embodiment, is hemispherical in shape. Any shape may be employed for the eye cup portion as long as it is a shape adapted to nest over a shoulder area at a threaded neck of an eye drop dispenser container and further adapted for positioning around a human eye area for drop dispensing of an eye treatment.
It is a critical feature of the present invention that the base portion may be threaded to a threaded neck of an eye drop dispenser container with said the set of internal threads, and so that the eye cup portion is positioned in a nested position over the shoulders of the container for compact shipment and storage, and may subsequently be unthreaded from the container, inverted and threaded to the threads of the neck with the second set of internal threads so that the eye cup portion is oriented upwardly away from the container. In this orientation, the eye cup is ready for eye application to an eye for dispensing of treatment from the eye drop dispenser container. In the alternative to the foregoing, a user may elect to not use the invertible eye drop dispenser device and simply remove a cap and invert and dispense from the dispenser container. Thus, the user will uniquely have the choice of using the invertible eye drop dispenser device or not, to apply eye treatment.
In some embodiments of the present invention, the base portion and eye cup portion may be made as two separate pieces and assembled, e. g., threaded, heat welded or glued together. In other embodiments, the base portion and the eye cup portion are made in a single mold and are, thus, unistructural in form. Whether formed separately or unistructurally, the device is preferably made of polymeric material, but could be made of other material, such as glass, ceramic, carbon fiber or the like.
For many reasons, including safety, gentleness to the touch of the face, prevention or reduction of dripping, accuracy in dosage and absorbency the present invention device eye cup portion has an outer rim with a flexible foam pad on the outer rim. Most preferably, the flexible foam pad is at least partially open porous and is water absorbent, i.e., it is made of foam with some open foam pore structure to absorb liquid treatment material during usage.
The eye cup portion is generally curvilinear in many embodiments, and may be substantially hemiovoid substantially hemispherical in shape.
Also, in conjunction with the present invention, there is a cap for closure of the dispensing orifice of the container. In some embodiments of the present invention, the cap may be any type of cap directly attachable to the container. In other embodiments, there is an external cap attachment means located at the top end of the base for receiving a threaded cap. For example, there may be a cap with threads adapted to be threaded to external threads located on the top end of the base portion of the device. Alternatively, a cap removably connected to the top end of base portion, e.g., wherein the cap has a living hinge permanently connected to itself and to the top end of the base portion.
In yet other embodiments of the present invention, the aforesaid devices are in combination with an eye drop dispenser container having a hollow body, shoulders and a neck, the neck having cooperating threads thereon and having a dispenser orifice.